Daily Inspiration: Meet Mackenzie Burgess

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mackenzie Burgess.

Mackenzie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Ever since I was young, I’ve had a passion for cooking, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Those interests eventually led me to create Cheerful Choices — a food and nutrition brand built around customizable, approachable recipes. My journey started at Colorado State University, where I studied nutrition and really discovered how much of an impact food has on people’s lives.
Today I’m a credentialed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) based in Los Angeles. My work spans a lot of different areas:
• I do brand partnerships and spokesperson work with food companies
• I appear regularly on live TV segments to demo my recipes
• I contribute to outlets like EatingWell, Parade, and Women’s Health
• And I run my own 1:1 nutrition coaching business helping people build their kitchen confidence
It’s genuinely the career I dreamed up when I was sitting in my college apartment testing recipes, and I’m grateful every day that it became a reality.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m so grateful I get to do what I love, but it definitely hasn’t been easy or an overnight success. I’ve worked to teach myself everything about my business: website development, food photography, SEO, pitching brands — none of that was covered in my education to become a dietitian. And in the early days, my mom was pretty much my only consistent blog reader (LOL).
One of my biggest ongoing struggles is balancing it all as a solopreneur. I’ve had to get really intentional about how I structure my days. I use lots of organization tools & also try to have my “Top 3 Must-Do’s” and then move onto “Can-Do’s”. That shift alone changed how productive I feel, even on the busiest days.
Falling into a comparative mindset is also another constant challenge. What helps me is keeping track of my weekly wins and maintaining what I call a ‘smile file’ — a collection of kind words, milestones, and proud moments I look back on whenever I’m feeling discouraged.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Cheerful Choices is all about making healthy eating easy, fun, and personalized to you. The whole brand philosophy is built around customization — my recipes are designed so you can swap in ingredients “of your choice”. This allows you to use whatever you have on hand and fit any dietary preferences.
On the media side, I’m a regular TV personality, appearing in Denver and LA to demo recipes live… one of my favorite parts of my job! I also do brand spokesperson work, partnering with food companies to communicate nutrition in a credible and approachable way on social media.
Beyond the content side, I run my Coaching + Cooking program — a 1:1 virtual experience where I combine personalized nutrition coaching with actual cooking skills. A lot of nutrition programs tell you what to eat but not how to cook it in a way you’ll actually enjoy. I bridge that gap. We work on meal planning, building sustainable habits, and making the kitchen feel less overwhelming. You can learn more at cheerfulchoices.com/coaching-and-cooking.
What I’m most proud of? The moments when someone tells me a recipe became a weeknight staple, or that our work together positively shifted how they think about food. What sets me apart is my combo of my dietitian expertise, media presence, and a genuine love for helping others with cooking.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Taking risks is something I’ve been actively building more into my life lately.
One habit I’ve built into my life is doing at least one thing per week that feels outside my comfort zone. It might be cold-messaging a celebrity to collaborate, pitching a national TV station, or brainstorming a completely new business idea just to see where it goes. It sounds small, but I think it’s all about consistently pushing the boundary you see as “impossible” and making it possible.
It also felt like a big risk moving here to Los Angeles, but it’s really paid off. Being here has opened doors to in-person LA TV segments, attending super cool events, and connecting with so many incredible produce and health brands based here. LA has this ecosystem of food, wellness, and media that just doesn’t exist anywhere else in the same way.
At the end of the day, every door that’s opened for me has been because I took a shot instead of waiting until I felt “ready.”

Pricing:

• Coaching starting at $200+

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cheerfulchoices.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheerfulchoices/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheerfulchoicesblog/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackenzie-burgess/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cheerfulchoices
• Other: Brand collaborations: https://cheerfulchoices.com/partner-with-a-dietitian/